Sony Announces Android 4.3 Compatibility Roadmap

Sony announced Thursday which of its devices will receive Android Jelly Bean 4.3, just a day after the operating system was officially unveiled alongside the new Nexus 7 at Google’s San Francisco press event. While Google’s Nexus line will be the first set of products to run 4.3, Sony confirmed that the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP, and Xperia Z Ultra will all receive the Android upgrade.

No official date has been given for when Jelly Bean 4.3 will make its way to the Xperia line of phones and tablets, but Sony users clamoring for the newly-showcased OS can rest assured that they’ll eventually be able to use it. Sony is the first manufacturer outside of Google to announce their plans for Android 4.3. In the meantime, Xperia ZR and Xperia Tablet Z users will receive Android 4.2 in early August.

One of the critics biggest complaints about the Android operating system has always been fragmentation. One study that was release more than a year ago said that the majority of Android devices never ran the most up-to-date version of the OS. Part of this problem is caused by the fact that different carriers and manufacturers must cooperate on rolling out updates. We have hope that the Samsung Galaxy line of phones and the HTC One will also receive the update, but there’s been no word on that front as of yet.

A devout gamer and tech enthusiast, Mike Andronico joined the Laptop team in July 2013. With a B.A. in Journalism from Purchase College and experience at GameNGuide, Examiner and 2D-X, Mike tackles everything from iPhone rumors to in-depth hardware reviews.